Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. British Star of IS Beheading Videos Unmasked by VOA News Media reports said the masked Islamic State militant who appeared in several videos of hostages being brutally beheaded has been tentatively identified as a British citizen with a degree in computer programming. Reports Thursday quoted friends of Mohammed Emwazi as saying they believe he is the tall, London-accented speaker, dubbed "Jihadi John." The man appears in the videos clad completely in black, with a mask over his face and a holster under his arm. U.S. and British officials have yet to comment on the news reports about his identity. According to The Washington Post, which first report Emwazi's identity on Thursday, his family declined a request for an interview, citing legal advice. The masked man later known as "Jihadi John" first appeared in an Islamic State video in August, in which he appeared to behead American James Foley, although the action was never shown. He later appeared in beheading videos involving other Western hostages: Britons Steven Sotloff, David Haines and Alan Henning, American Peter Kassig. He also appeared in videos with Japanese hostages Haruna Yakawa and Kenji Goto last month, before they were slain. Masking one's identity The [1]International Center for the Study of Radicalization at London's King's College, a leading resource for studying foreign jihadists, said it believed the identity "to be accurate and correct." "The fact that 'Jihadi John' has been unveiled in this manner demonstrates that whatever efforts are made, the ability to mask one's identity is limited or in fact impossible, and their true identities will eventually be revealed," it said in a statement reported by the French news agency AFP. London's Metropolitan Police would not confirm a report that first appeared in the Washington Post, which identified the suspect as Emwazi, who grew up in west London after having moved to Britain when he was 6 years old. "We are not going to confirm the identity of anyone at this stage," Richard Walton, head of the police Counter Terrorism Command, said in a statement. He is reported to have been a "person of interest" to British security authorities, although security officials have not confirmed this. Emwazi, believed to be in his mid 20s, is reported to be a Kuwait-born, middle-class Londoner who practiced Islam. Friends and acquaintances said they believe he began to radicalize in the past few years after trips to Africa and the Middle East. Radicalized According to media reports, he apparently was detained by authorities following a flight to Tanzania and accused by British intelligence officers of trying to make his way to Somalia, where they believed he had links to a man with connections to the jihadist militant group al-Shabab. He was eventually deported. AFP reported that Emwazi also was angered after being barred from flying from London to Kuwait, according to emails sent by him to pressure group Cage. In emails in 2010 to the Washington Post and the Guardian, he claimed he "had a job waiting for me and marriage to get started." The Interior Ministry could not immediately comment on the reports, AFP reported. The Washington Post reported Emwazi was believed to have traveled to Syria around 2012 and to have later joined the Islamic State group. Some material for this report came from Reuters and AFP. __________________________________________________________________ [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/reports-british-jihadi-john-identifie d/2659899.html References 1. http://www.trackingterrorism.org/resource/international-center-study-radicalisation-icsr 2. http://www.voanews.com/content/reports-british-jihadi-john-identified/2659899.html